Improvement in endless-chain horse-powers



UNiTED STATES ATENT @Erica isAAfo n. LAWRENCE, rordenan rsLAND, New YORK,

lMPRotvi-:M ENT IN ENBLESS- QH,MN HORSE-POWERS.

Specilieation forming part o Lotiers Patent No. 36,353, dated Sepieinber 2, 1862.'

.To all 'whom it may concern: y

Be it known that I, Isidro R. LAWRENCE, of

the village lof GreenIsland, in the county ofA Albany and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Endless-Chain Horse-Power Machines, of which thfe following is a full and exact description, reference being had to the annexed drawings, 'in which. Y

@Figure l is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 a iront view, of the vmain portion of a horsepower machine embodying vmy invention; and Fig; 3 is a section of a part of the same niaoliine at the line ze, and Fig. 4 is another sec#` ti'n gof the saine part at the lineyy. Fig. 5 is a` top View of a part of the upper stretch; Fig. 6,'a topview, partly invv seetiomof a part of "th'eflower stretch; and Fig. 7,y a cross-section. at4 or about the line x, all ofthe endless chain ai'id'traek'of the -same machine, but shown-ona larger scale than inthe other drawings; Figs.

8, 9,' Vand 10 are side elevations of parts of the linksof the 'saine endless chain.

The sameletters" refer to like parts in all the figures, and the 'arrows therein indicate the di.-v

rections in which the parts move.

In the annexed drawings, A is the stationary or supporting frame of the-machine.`

'I3 B are t/liejlags for the horse or horses "to tread upon, C C the links which connect .the

lags together, and D the earryingwheels or- `rollers of the'endless chain.

l EE are the two upperandF F the two lowertraok-frailson whichthe rollersD of the endless chain run', and,A G,;H, and K larethe inner. andouter .curvedgnides or ways. in .which the chain runs betweenthe ends of the" track-rails.' f

' "I I are the guard-rails which keep the end-4 'less lchaindown in place While passing along 'the'i upper track-rails, E-E, where the chain receives'the tread `of the horse or horses", 'and whei'ethe chain engages, by means of t th e.l

gontheflinks, Withay toothed pinion, f, on a shaft, J, arranged to receive and commu icate rotary jmoti'onfrom the endless ehain. v

7 In running endless-chain horse-powers it often happens that a roller, D, link C, or lag but in endless-chain horse-powers made before my invention herein 'described the least 'B/becmesbroken, worn out, or in some way defective -before the others, and mustbe taken out of the chain'and anew one put in its place;

of the guard-rails and lifting and 'holding up of'the chain required hard work and much' lossof time of the attendantswhenthe horse- .power and thel machinery driven thereby should be runn ing,- and in reattaching the guard-railsI the-unskilled laborers, who are/ generally employed to use horse-powers, were very liable to set the guard-rails/s'o as to make the rollers D bind and the chain run hard, or not properly or accurately engage with the pinio11 lfon the shaft J. -Iiesides, when the li'nks C Chad lugs lc l, Figs. 2, 5, and 6,which "locked the links together while ruiming on the straight track-rails, it was very objectionable, if not impractieable, to have the chain so loose as to let it be bent up far enough to-` allow the lugs Zo Z to separate, so as toperniit the links to vbe taken off from the lags B when `over the -upper traekrails, E'E. Now the lateral or outer guide, G, Figs. l, 2, 3, ,4, is necessaryeto fkeep the endless chain orparts thereof properly together and in place lwhile passing. from one pair of'traek-rails to the other around the inner curved guide, H, and the outer guide, 5G, has heretofore been made in onepiece,with the innerguide, H, as shown at K in Fig. 1, .r fixed immovably in respect to theendless chain',while the latter remained entire and in pl'aeeiior runningin the machine; butI make the outer guide, G, readily removable from the inner guide,II,or its equivalent, and away from the endless chain, while the latter remains entire and in plaeeon the inner guides, II, or on thereel, which hasoften been arranged in endless-chain horse-powers in the place of the inner guide, H, and so constructl and arrange the frame A- andthe other parts of the machine thatxan attendant, after removing "the outer guide,G,or guides GG, Fig. 2, away fro'm the endless chain, and making fast the latter, can then, Without removing either the guard-rail or guard-rails II, or the horse or horses,fron1 the mach-ine, 4take out of and insertin the endless 'ehain any roller D, link O,or lag B,at the end of the machine where he has taken off lhc outer guide or guides, G, atl which place the attendant can more convenientlyV handle the links and lags than atthe sides of the machine over the upper track-rails. And at the end of the machine the links C are so bent around or upon the inner guide, H, or its equivalent,as to bc free to be slid sidewise off from thelags when thc links have ,lugs 7c Z, as shown in Figs. 2, 5,and 6, to lock the links together when `on Athe straighttrack-rails; and by thus having the annexed drawings the outer guides, G G,

at thefront end of the machine, are hung on pivot-bolts m to the frame A below the endless chain, andlwhen keeping the chain in place on the inner guides, l-I H,Las sh'own at the right hand in Fig. 2 and at the left hand in Figs. 3 and 4, theoutcr guide, G, is then held in place by means of aiiange, n, and recess o,on the frame orinner guide, H; allange, p, and tongue q, and hasp r, on the guide G; a perforated lug or staple,s,cn the frame A,'-and a removable pin, t; so that byjust taking the pin i from the staples the outer guide, G, can then be freely .turned down on the pivot m, as a center, away from the endless chain, so as to leave the rol'lers,'links, and lags exposed and free to be taken from the machine, as shown at the left hand in' Fig. 2 and at the right hand in Figs. 3 and/l. Instead of having thefentire outer guide or guides, G, removable, onlyr such a part thereof need be made removable as will allow the lags, links,

and rollers to be .changed at the end of themachine, and the outer guide'or guides, G, or a sufficient part thereotas just stated, may be made removable at either the front or the back end, or at `both ends, of the machine, and the inner curved guides, H, may each be made in one immovable piece, or a part, u, Fig.

1, may be made separable laterally, or so as to slacken the chain in changing its links and lags. When ,the axles L, which carry the rollers D, are cast in one piece with the links C, those axles should be made tapering in order that they mayhave greater strength with less size and at the same timel allow the axles and the corresponding-tapered sockets M in the rollers D to be molded and cast with less diiiieulty than cylindricalaxles and'sockets. A

Tapered axles have been heretofore cast on the links of endless-chain horsepower machines, with the central or axial lines, b b, Figs. 5, 6, and, 7of the axles in a' plane, c'c, Fig. 7, essentially parallel to the plane d of the track, but substantially perpendicular to `the lines of motion u c, Figs. 5 and 6,5of the axles, so that the rollers D D in running would tend to run oli' from the tapered axles and rub and bind against the track-rails, whether running' on the upper or the lower track. Now, to avoid that difficulty, I cast the tapered axles L L on the links C Cwith the central lines, bb, of the axles parallel or substantially parallel to the plane of the track, but'inclined forward toward the line or direction of motion v v of the axles, as is clearly shownby Figs. 4l5, 6, 7,

and 8 ofthe annexed drawings, so as tol therel by make the rollers D tend to keep on the axles L L, as well when thcchain is .running bottomside upon the lower track-rails, F F, Figs. 1..

and 6, as when running rightside up on the upper track-rails, E E, Figs..1, 5, and 7.

For the sake of more clearly illustrating this part of my invention, I have in Figs.' 5, 6,\and `8 shown the tapered axles L L inclined `forward' about twice as much as, or somewhat more than, will generally be, necessary withl axles of the taper shown in the'drawings, to keep thevrollers D properly on theaxles when running either sideup; and I will here remark that itis essential Ato this partA of `my inventionthat the tapered axles L L should be substantially parallel to the plane d d, Figs. 7 and '3, of the track they are passing along, as well as that the axles should be inclined forward toward their line or direction of motion, as

shown by Figs. 5, 6, "and 8, for if the axleslr were inclined downward .or toward the planeI of the track while passing along thenpper track, E E, the same axles would be inclined upward or away from the piane of the track when moving along the lower track, F F, andA consequently make ,the rollers D more liable' to runoff from their axles L.

Whenever the links of endless chains for horsepowers arejointed together by means of pivots N'and corresponding sockets P, Figs. 6, 7, and` 10, cast in 4and upon the links, 1it is very importanti-.hat thel pivots and sockets should'be tapered, so as to secure the most strength with the least size and atthe same time allow them to be molded and cast with the least difficulty; but infendles's chains` for horse-power machines, `heretofore made with the links jointed together bythe use of ta. -pered pivots cast on the links, the axial or central lines, g g, of the pivots were arranged substantially perpendicular to the lineof motion 'uz w', Figs. 5 and 6, f the pivots, so that Vthe taper of the pivots tended to makethe linksv slide apart sidewise on the pivots under" -the pull of the horse or horses on therunning chain. y v

To lessen or remedy that difficulty, I arrange the tapered pivots N and their corre spending socket-s P, by which the links C are jointed togethcigwith the axial or middlelines, i

gg, of the pivots and sockets inclined toward the line of motion w lzo of thefpivots, essen- 'tiallyas'shown by Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 9 of the annexed drawings. When the. pivots N are cast on the back part of theliuks C, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the pivots must then incline forward toward the line of motion 'w w of the pivots; but if the pivots N were 'east on the forward part ofthe links the pivots would in such a case require to be inclined backward toward their line of motion.

Now,what Iclaim as new and of my invention in endless-chain horse-power machines, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The movable hal f-eirele or outside guide or guides, G, for the endless chain at the end of the machine, the machine being so constructed, substantially as herein described, that a lag, B, link C, or roller D can be taken from and replaced in the endless chain at the circular end of the machine on removing the said half-circle or outer guide or guides, G, without taking either the guard-rail or guardvrails l, or the ho'rse or horses, from themachine. A v

2.`The inclined tapered axles L, cast on links G, combined together and with the roll,- ers D, lags Rand traeks E F, substantially ai herein described.

3. rlhe inclined tapered pivots N and corres iondinfr socket-s l cast in and n on linksl 

